- Baltasar Barreira
Baltasar Barreira (Balthasar) (born at Lisbon, 1531; died 1612) was a Portuguese
Jesuit missionary to Africa.Missions
He was in
Angola , for 13 years, founding a school inLuanda in 1587 [ [http://www.diafrica.org/kenny/ccta/CCTA2.htm Joseph Kenny OP: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN TROPICAL AFRICA, Chapter 2 ] ] . Later in life he went to West Africa, reaching theCape Verde Islands in 1604 [ [http://www.heuijerjans.net/CapeVerde/CaboHist_JesuitDocuments.html Heuijerjans.net ] ] . He then travelled toBissau the next year, andSierra Leone [Elizabeth Allo Isichei, "A History of Christianity in Africa: From Antiquity to the Present" (1995), p. 58.] ; he visitedBenin in 1607 [Joseph J. Williams,, "Voodoos and Obeahs" pp. 35-6.] ,Cacheu in 1608 [George E. Brooks, "Eurafricans in Western Africa" (2003), p. 73.] .Works
His literary works consist chiefly of "Relations" written to the supervisors of the Society of Jesus. He is an eyewitness for matters of religion and slavery.
Accounts of the conversion of pagan tribes and the baptisms of native kings as well as treatises on the manners and customs of the people are the principal subjects of his writings. He recounted in detail the victory of the Portuguese, led by
Paulo Dias de Novais , in a battle of 1583.Reference
*
Sommervogel , "Bibl. de la c. de J.", I, 918.Notes
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